[morgin]

This is entirely anecdotal, but from talking to people I know, it seems at least somewhat of a common theme. I will happily spend money on tickets for professional sports at a "top" level, because usually half of why I am going is for the pro sports atmosphere. CFL I have seasons. I go to a lot of Flames games. I would happily get myself tickets for an MLB baseball team if Calgary had one. I would happily get MLS tickets. I do not care about and don't have a history of supporting lower tier leagues. Never seen a minor pro baseball game in Calgary and probably won't. Don't care about lower tier soccer. I go to hitmen games when the tickets are free but don't really enjoy the atmosphere enough to pay for it. I realize this makes me kind of a ####ty sports fan, but it is what it is.

So, assuming there are lots of people like me, MLS could probably do ok where a lower tier league team may not.